Jerusalem Light Festival 2015

The Jerusalem Light Festival has been taking place in the Old City of Jerusalem for 7 years. Every year, for one week in June, the Old City is transformed into a brilliant light show, with thousands of people visiting the festival every night, crowding through the old cobbled alleys and walkways of the four quarters of the city, Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish.

Every year, artists from Israel and around the world find new and original ways of combining light, sound and the unique character of the city into beautiful works of art.

The festival draws visitors from across the country, as well as many foreign tourists as well.

Maronite Convent Street, Christian Quarter, “Hello, Goodbye and See You”, Ronen Aricha, Israel. The description says “You cannot help but wave back at the sweet children waving to the passerby”. I admit, I restrained myself…

The lights of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, or in Hebrew- Kfar Hashiloach, outside the Old City. Archeological digs there have found a palace which is believed to have been King David’s. In 1882, Yemenite Jews settled there, but were driven out by the Arabs in 1938 in a series of pogroms. Now, approximately 500 Jews and 19,000 Arabs live there, in high tension. But from atop the Old City walls at night, the lights look quiet and peaceful.

Zedekiah’s cave, “RingGingBling”. By far, the coolest stop in the festival. The cave is believed to have been King Zedekiah’s escape route when the Babylonians conquered the city over 2500 years ago when the First Temple was destroyed. The cave also served as a quarry for the building of the Second Temple.Deep inside the cave, the artists have placed these structures, colored in red, yellow and blue. Using red, green and blue light, they have created the illusion of movement.